💦 FULL SET: The runner - Full Gallery 2025
The Runner
A downloadable game
Toxic cyberpunk yuri interactive fiction about friendship, love and transhuman sports. How far should you go for those dear to you?
CONTENT WARNINGS: general mature themes, such as isolation, depression and others
DISCLAIMER. This is a work of fiction. The characters are not meant to represent any real people, living or dead. No copyright infringement intended, any match with real-life brands is coincidental.
Features:
- ~3500 words (~30 min. of reading in total)
- 3 endings
- Themes of care, self-worth, resentment and others
- Supplemental photographic backgrounds
- Dynamic emotional soundtrack
- Bonus content
Thank you to everyone who helped me and supported me in making this game, including all the nice people on the Yuri Jam 2025 Discord server!
CHARACTERS (only concept art for now)
CREDITS
CREATOR, WRITER, PROGRAMMER, LOGO DESIGN,
MAIN MENU DESIGN
ADDITIONAL WRITING, WRITING HELP
- Norbez Jones (call me Bez, e/em/eir)
CHARACTER CONCEPT ART
- Kawffe
- cool dude
STOCK IMAGES AND SOUNDS - Pixabay
Used under the Pixabay Content License
Edited by Borgarlover
FONT - Geo by Ben Weiner
Copyright (c) 2000-2010, Ben Weiner (ben@readingtype.org.uk), with Reserved Font Name Geo.
This Font Software is licensed under the SIL Open Font License, Version 1.1 .
MUSIC
Epic Cyberpunk | Glory by Alex-Productions | https://onsound.eu/
Music promoted by https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/
Creative Commons CC BY 3.0
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Edited by Borgarlover
Noise by Alex-Productions | https://onsound.eu/
Music promoted by https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/
Creative Commons CC BY 3.0
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Signal to Noise by Scott Buckley | www.scottbuckley.com.au
Music promoted by https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/
Creative Commons CC BY 4.0
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Download
Comments
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This was a very interesting story with some cool things to ponder over! I'm a lover of science-fiction and cyberpunk fiction, and this story seem to tackle transhumanism in particular. The elephant in the room of course is that this VN is very sparse with its visuals - it's more apt to call it a short story with some music in it as well. (By the way, the music is pretty good for being what I assume to be stock music! I liked the track during "The Competitor") However I didn't really mind this at all, although it could be a dealbreaker for some. The only thing I find to be a shame is that the concept art shown after the ending is super promising and great looking, and I wish the creator had incorporated them into the VN somehow, even if they were just a single sprite for each character.
As for the story, I feel like it was about how we dehumanise disabled people and how even disabled folks themselves internalise their ableism. My take on it is that while Vanessa is an open bigot who freely steals from the weak, Sam is equally toxic in that they feel extremely posessive over Millie and doesn't really seem to view her as a person. But I do have some criticisms - first, the dialogue is very stilted, and it could have been more smooth. Second, the story proper is too short to fully explore some of these themes, and the "bonus scenes" could have easily been incorporated into the main story. Anyway I thought this was a cool entry that definitely could've been improved upon even more!
Thank you again for such a thoughtful comment. :) Yes, I got the notifications for both this comment and the one on the jam submission page.